June 2022 was definitely the month for gaming showcases and announcements. We also saw some unique hardware news from both Sony and Xbox.
Game Announcements
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Announced and Teaser Trailer – News of the next installment of the Star Wars Jedi series came out this month. A teaser trailer was also provided but provided scant details. Based on the description from EA, the story picks up 5 years after the first game. In the first game we see Cal Kestis journey after surviving Order 66. I was a big fan of the first game having enjoyed the story and the combat I look forward to this next game. With this game, the developers mentioned a focus on newer console hardware. This will surely improve upon graphical performance, something the first game had issues with. Slated to release in 2023, there is plenty of time to catch up on the original game, which I recommend. Check out my review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on YouTube.
- Games Showcases – Gaming events were plentiful this month in spite of the notable absence of E3. All the major players had announcements over the span of a few weeks. At State of Play, PlayStation showed a focus on VR gaming, updates to Horizon Forbidden West, and more! The Xbox and Bethesda Showcase had just as many games announced as well as updates to Starfield and Redfall. Lastly, just before the month was over, Nintendo dropped a “Mini Direct” featuring a new open-world Sonic the Hedgehog. I do recommend checking out everything that was announced as it is too much to cover in this post (sorry Summer Game Fest).
Other News
- Xbox Cloud Gaming on TVs – Microsoft is taking the next step with their cloud gaming platform. They recently announced their Xbox app will be available on 2022 Samsung TVs. While the access is limited, this will provide valuable data to Microsoft about the performance of the service. Many in the industry were expecting a streaming stick of sorts. However, if this approach is successful then extra hardware won’t be necessary. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has made it clear that cloud gaming is the way forward for the company.
- New Sony Gaming Hardware and Rumored PS5 Pro Controller – Sony has officially announced new hardware, and it’s not just headsets. Sony has made two monitors that can be paired with their console or a PC. One monitor will have a resolution at 4K while the other tops out at 1080p. However, the lower resolution monitor will see higher frame rates and will be priced lower as well. Along side will be three new headsets, from wired to wireless. Yet, although rumored to be in the works, no official word on a pro controller from Sony. There are already 3rd party “Pro” controllers available for the PS5 but having a proprietary controller will certainly elevate the user experience. Lastly, it was also announced that the second generation of PSVR is in the works with a drop date for the 2022 holiday season.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Reveal Trailer – A teaser was released in May and now the official reveal trailer has come out. I already talked about my hype for this game in my last monthly post, so I won’t retread the same ground. However, the game is also available for preorder now, which also gives early access during their beta period.